Juvenile Justice News

Old, failed remedies won't reduce Baltimore crime

There is no denying that last year was a historically violent year in Baltimore. A shift in crime patterns meant that portions of the city not accustomed to high rates of crime saw increases in both crimes and arrests. The narrative around this increase in crime quickly focused on “out of control youth.” But the numbers tell a more complicated story.

Once Rikers Island Took Kalief Browder’s Life, His Siblings Knew Their Mother Was Next

Ms. Venida Browder’s house collected sounds that cemented lifelong memories within its walls. In her Bronx abode, the matriarch raised seven children who would go on to keep the seams in tact in the fabric of family. Sounds of fun times passed through every nook of the two-floor house, but sounds of despair also found a space within her home.

One lawn at a time: D.C. seniors get help from juvenile offenders headed home

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) helped mow 81-year-old Evelyn Young’s lawn Saturday to raise awareness about a new city program in which youths reentering society after time in the juvenile justice system provide lawn-care services for senior citizens.

Oops, We Took 20 Years of Your Life by Mistake. Have a Nice Day.

The recent and tragic suicide of my friend and fellow exoneree Darryl Hunt is a stark reminder that no monetary compensation can make up for the psychological toll of wrongful conviction. When a wrongfully convicted person is released from prison, it’s often to a throng of reporters clamoring to capture images of an emotional reunion with his smiling family and friends, and lawyers. These images instill a sense of vindication and a happy ending. But what is too often unseen is how difficult it is to re-enter society after years or decades of confinement -- especially if you are innocent. These are the unseen scars, and too many states pay them inadequate attention, or none at all.

Opinion | Juvenile justice that restores families

Guiding and protecting young people is one of our most morally significant obligations as a society. That’s precisely the goal of the juvenile justice system. Understanding that young people make mistakes, we seek to hold them accountable while offering a chance for transformation.

Opinion: Juvenile justice reform will give judges options to help young people change course

Seventeen-year-old Malcolm had a hair-trigger temper. Simple teenaged disagreements with his mother and sister turned into verbal — and often physical — assault. After police were called to his home several times, the young man was arrested for domestic violence. He spent two days in detention, then went before a judge in an emergency court hearing.

Oregon Incarcerates Youth At Higher Rate Than Most States

Our Criminal Courts Are Failing Juvenile Defendants

Getting in trouble and getting punished is a natural part of adolescence. But for some teens the punishment is worse than the crime, executed not by a stern parent but by a county judge who leaves them defenseless.

Our Opinion: Raise the Age — It's the right thing to do

We commend the Missouri Senate for recently voting 31-0 on a bill that would raise the age of teens covered by the juvenile system to 18. Currently, state law states those 17 or older and accused of a crime must be handled in the adult criminal justice system.

Our View: Raise legal age for adult status

If your 17-year-old is convicted of a crime — any crime — he or she will be tried as an adult. That means that if jail time is a consequence of the crime, that time would likely be served in a jail or prison with other adults.

Out Of Time: The System Failed Kalief Browder, But It Doesn’t Have To Fail Others

Spike TV’s docu-series TIME: The Kalief Browder Story walked viewers through the unimaginable and horrifying experience that Kalief Browder endured at Rikers Island for allegedly stealing a backpack in May 2010. Because of a bag, a faulty identification from the victim, and a vicious justice system, Kalief spent three years of his childhood in the prison system while his case was wrapped up in a number of technicalities and misrepresented information.

Part 1 of “Young and Arrested”: A Boy in Prison by Age 14

Streetlights glare inside Lieutenant Shane DeJarnett’s white unmarked SUV as he cruises through Pine Hills past houses, and churches and pedestrians. As Orange County’s nighttime sheriff, DeJarnett keeps a close eye on what is happening in this mixed-income black neighborhood on the west side of Orlando.